And so ends the life of another would-be iTunes competitor.
Spiral Frog, a Universal-backed subscription music catastrophe, has apparently called it quits. Though the service was “free” (using an ad-supported model), it still suffered from the five things that pretty much all subscription-based music models share…
Billboard recently reported that Total Music, a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, has finally ceased operations. The two music giants have “agreed to stop funding the effort, citing both business and economic factors for doing so.”
As far as I’m concerned, this thing was doomed from the start. It was born, like many of the hare-brained music companies’ schemes, out of thinking they could out-do iTunes. It was just one of several ventures that some of the labels entered into in ridiculous attempts to damage iTunes so they could somehow get back to the wonderful world of selling albums, not singles, at $15 a pop, like the good ol’ days of CDs.
When Nokia and Universal announced their “Comes With Music” initiative last December, this is what I wrote:
This music is heavily DRM’ed — no subscription model can function without it. I suspect the idea that you still “own” it after the year is dependent upon one’s definition of the word “own”. I don’t think I’ll like Nokia/Universal’s definition.
When the full details come out, I bet we’ll discover that unless you continue a Nokia “Comes With Music” contract on a phone (in which case you’re still paying for the subscription), or never change the PC you’re using when the phone terms expire, you will lose the music.
Today we now have details on the thing. The relevant points:
The user is only able to change registered mobile device or PC every three months for a further two years post termination.
After two years post termination (after three years from beginning of the subscription) users will be able to keep the content on their current device/PC but will no longer be able to re-download it from the service.
In short, as I suspected, I don’t like Nokia’s definition of the word “own”.
You “own” it as long as you stay with one of their devices and keep extending your contract. Once the contract is over, however, the music is stuck on the mobile device/PC you have at the time, and cannot be moved. Own it, my ass.
Universal’s had so many bad ideas on ways to hawk music it’s hard to keep up with them all. Still, I’ve tried.
Now one of their brilliant schemes — Total Disaster (a.k.a. Total Music) — is facing scrutiny from the Department of Justice.
Personally, I think Total Music is, well, a disaster. Still, I’m glad Universal’s moves are attracting some attention.
A good article on The Lefsetz Letter about the Stones deal with EMI. One portion of the article makes it clear that Mr. Lefsetz is as fond of Universal’s Doug Morris as I am:
Doug Morris is waiting for Congress to approve blowing up traders’ computers, possibly lynching them in the town square, he thinks he can beat this thing, he believes the good old days are just around the corner.
Too true.
Let’s face it, next week we’ll all be discussing Macworld news, so I thought I’d review some tech headlines from the last few days and get them out of my system before the real fun begins next week…
So the net is abuzz with the story that Warner Music will sell DRM-free music through Amazon.
Numerous headlines call it a coup for Amazon, saying they beat Apple to the punch. And many are proclaiming it as a change of heart for Warner. It’s neither.
Yesterday I wrote about Universal CEO Doug Morris and how he claims all the mistakes the major labels have made (and are making) in regards to digital downloads are only because they “just didn’t know what to do”.
I’ve written numerous posts about Universal’s stupidity regarding their moves in relation to digital downloads and sales. Not only their actions to prop up the unworkable music subscription model, but also those designed to damage Apple’s iTunes store even at the expense of selling more of Universal’s own product.
A couple months ago I wrote about yet another subscription model which, naturally, Universal was backing. Well, let’s see how the Spiral Frog effort is doing, shall we? Well, Read/Write web says this:
“SprialFrog, the big music industry’s experiment with free music downloads, is bleeding money and considering hiring bloggers to improve their public profile.”
Let’s face it, the big news for Apple is next week with their quarterly earning call on Monday and Leopard release on Friday. Still, there was a lot of interesting stuff this week to comment on…
BusinessWeek published a story about yet another move Universal is taking against Apple. Before we get to their latest, let’s review the recent shots Universal has fired:
Amazon opened their MP3 store today, and it’s clear iTunes has legitimate competition since Amazon avoids the pitfalls that made other music sites a joke. However, through it all some curious questions arise, which I’ll get to below. Meanwhile, here’s why this new site is a valid alternative to iTunes:
So Universal has teamed up with SpiralFrog on a subscription service with a twist; the service is now out of beta and officially launched. SpiralFrog is unique among subscription services in that it’s subscription-less (at least for now). No monthly fee is required, the site is intended to be funded solely by advertising and your recurring visits:
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber had a lot to say in his article about ringtones and what he calls the “ringtones racket”. However, I disagree with part of his premise, and ultimately his conclusions. For other views on this subject here’s a great post from Epple, and Roughly Drafted touches on the subject as well.
Oil and water. Matter and anti-matter. Sony and Universal. These are apparently combinations that just don’t mix.The brilliant minds at the record labels have come up with a new idea for the holiday season. They’re going to sell “ringles.” Heh. Ringles. I just had to see that name again.
“What are you, a wise guy?”
What would happen if the three stooges tried to take on Apple’s iTunes Store? Well, now we know, because its happened.
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